I am trying to create a 3-D plot when working in CHemstation but when I click the button it doesn't come up with anything. I have created them before but since students also work on the HPLC I am wondering if they had clicked on something to make this function no longer available? When i click on the 3-D button the computer acts like it is pulling up a second screen for just a split second but nothing appears.

Hi dkconner, the revision of ChemStation you have (Help > About) will help with the specific instructions we might post. Please reply with that revision.

There are 3 key pieces in the software that will make the 3D plot work:

1. The correct license for Spectral Evaluation.

2. That the 3D/Spectral Evaluation option is actually enabled in the software.

3. That the data collected was collected on a Diode Array Detector (DAD) or Fluorescence Detector (FLD) with the spectral storage option "All" enabled.

If, in the ChemStation software you have, you're seeing a "Spectra" menu in the menu bar at the top of the Data Analysis view

(click View > Data Analysis to make sure you're in the correct view), then we can safely assume that conditions 1 and 2 are met. As for the third, can you confirm off-hand how the data you're looking at was collected? I.e., with which detector was it collected and what was the spectral storage option selected? For example, here is a screenshot of a DAD method setting for the spectrum option that will give you the most complete 3D plot:

The particular settings or steps will depend or vary based on the revision of software you have.

Let me make sure I understand the situation. In ChemStation C.01.07, you have loaded a datafile that was collected with Store All, then you click on Spectra > 3D Plot... as shown below and nothing happens?

If that's the case, I would suggest looking down at the very bottom of the screen, immediately below the command line (if enabled), and for only a few seconds after you press the 3D Plot... option in the menu, you might see an error message that appears nowhere else which might point to the problem. Can you post the error message if this is true?

Interesting. Can you try doing the same for one of the DAD demo files, like C:\Chem32\1\Data\Demo\LC_Demo1\Sample1_1.D? Also, what you could try for both of them is to go to Spectra > Iso/3D plot options... and make sure there's nothing in the time range. It might be that the time range is too small to generate a plot. Also check the Iso plot settings. Again, these are typically left blank so that the presentation of the data is not limited. Once you've verified the settings are untouched and appear as below, try to generate the 3D plot from this window instead.

If the demo file works, there must be something corrupt or incorrectly collected with your data. If the demo files also don't work and you've checked the options above, resetting the configuration file would be the next step. Before doing that, check if there's a difference in this behavior between the Online session of ChemStation and the Offline session. The files to reset will depend on whether there is a difference between the two sessions, so please let us know what you observe.

THe demo did work in the offline program and I was able to pull up 3-D images in the online version for any file that I tried.

I went into the offline program to check parameter settings in the iso/3-D options and cleared those (there were some parameters set) but even once cleared could not get 3-D images to pull up . One thing I did notice was that the 3-D option button in the iso/3D options was grayed out:

Ok, then it sounds like the offline session has become corrupted somehow. First, make sure all online and offline ChemStation sessions are closed.

Go into each of the existing instrument folders (Chem32\1\, Chem32\2\,...) for which you are seeing this problem and locate the file with the name Conf_off.reg. Rename this file to Conf_off.reg.old. Windows will ask if you are sure; just select yes. Start the offline session again and the problem should be resolved.